Nicola Sturgeon’s decision not to raise taxes for the richest in society came under fire at First Minister’s Questions yesterday.
Scottish Labour’s Kezia Dugdale said the SNP leader had bottled it by not using the new tax powers coming to Holyrood to increase the additional rate to 50p and relieve pressure on public services.
She said Ms Sturgeon had backtracked on her pledge to make top earners contribute more – but Ms Sturgeon said her party’s council and income tax plans would boost the country’s coffers by £2billion.
“The SNP will now go into this election with a commitment to keep George Osborne’s tax cut for those earning more than £150,000 a year, even though we now have the power to make different choices from the Tories,” Ms Dugdale told Holyrood.
“Why does the First Minister no longer think that the richest 1% should pay their fair share?”
Ms Sturgeon responded saying it would have been “politically easy” to up the rate, but such a move could backfire by reducing the revenue.
“It would not be radical it would be reckless, it would not be daring it would be daft,” she said.
Referring to her decision not to follow Mr Osborne in raising the higher rate threshold to £45,000, Ms Sturgeon said: “We will ask the better off in our society to shoulder a bit more of the burden and over the life of the next parliament our proposals, local and national, will raise an additional £2billion of revenue – revenue we can invest in our NHS, in our public services and mitigating the impact of Tory austerity.”
Willie Rennie, the leader of the Scottish Liberal Democrats, whose party is looking at 1p tax rises across the board to raise £500million a year, said Ms Sturgeon had chosen not to raise taxes – foregoing the opportunity to sort the problems in the education system.